Aid and development
Access to healthcare improving in Xekong
Xekong province is among the poorest in Laos, with an infant mortality rate of 70 per 1,000 live births and a maternal mortality ratio of 357 per 100,000 live births, according to 2015 statistics from the provincial health office. Xekong province was one of five provinces-targeted ...
US supports HIV/AIDS response in Vietnam
The US Agency for International Development has awarded a five-year grant to the Center for Promotion of Quality of Life in Vietnam to strengthen community-led approaches to HIV prevention, care and treatment.The USAID Enhanced Community HIV Link – Southern project, implemented in Ho Chi Minh City, ...
Southeast Asian economy grew 4.6% in April-June
The Southeast Asian economy is recovering, posting the sharpest growth in a year and a half in the April-June quarter. The real gross domestic product of five major countries in the region – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines – expanded 4.6% from a year earlier, surpassing the 4.4% ...
Why 'partnerships for sustainable development' counts as an essential sustainable development goal
Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the 17th is the odd one out. As “Partnerships for the Goals”, it is a goal that helps you get to the other 16 goals. For most businesses committed to sustainable development, however, this 17th goal may be the ...
The changing face of Japan-ASEAN aid
Japan’s foreign aid toolkit has been expanding since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December 2012, as he seeks to shore up Japan’s influence in South-east Asia in the face of muscle-flexing by China. Japan announced on August 12 that it would give two new large ...
EU asks gov’t to cancel Mondulkiri border crossing plan
The EU has called on the government to kill plans for a controversial border checkpoint in the Mondulkiri Protected Forest that has drawn the ire of conservationists since it was first mooted two years ago. At a meeting with Interior Minister Sar Kheng on August 9, ...
ADB sells $1.3 billion in global green bonds to spur climate financing
The Asian Development Bank has raised $1.3 billion to help finance climate change mitigation and adaptation projects with the issue of dual-tranche 3-year and 10-year green bonds, following its inaugural green bond issue in 2015. Last year, ADB announced that it will double its annual climate ...
World Bank staff point to 'leadership crisis' at global lender
Staff at the World Bank delivered a broadside against its sitting president this week, saying the global lender faced a “crisis of leadership” and risked irrelevance on the world stage. The rebuke, made in an open letter from the Bank’s staff association, came as informal talks ...
World Bank loan will not be used for govt salary increases, says president’s office spokesperson
Government employees’ salaries will not increase despite plans to take out a loan worth US$100 million from the World Bank, aimed at covering a state deficit by separating salaries from the budget, according to government officials. Myanmar’s President Htin Kyaw sent a message on August 5 ...
More aid earmarked for Myanmar
Australia has pledged an extra $12 million in humanitarian assistance to Myanmar to help address the legacy of civil war and natural disasters. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop made the announcement after meeting with her counterpart and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.Keep reading ...
